Netanyahu addresses UN as Gaza criticism and election loom

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday amid mounting criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and an approaching election at home. Analysts say his audience will extend beyond the delegates in New York to voters in Israel.

Netanyahu said before leaving Israel that he would use the UN podium to defend his country and its military. “You hear the terrible lies that are being spread there,” he said in a video Wednesday night. He also said his speech would include “surprises.”

Netanyahu arrived in New York on Thursday for a short visit, NBC News reported. With only a handful of diplomatic meetings scheduled on the sidelines of the assembly, he is expected to return to Israel in time for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on Friday evening. NBC News said delegates were likely to walk out during his address in protest over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

The speech comes amid international criticism of Israel over civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel has faced repeated accusations of genocide and war crimes at the UN, Al Jazeera reported. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 75,000 people, NBC News reported, citing Palestinian health officials. The war followed Hamas’s October 2023 attacks on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, according to NBC News.

The political stakes are high for Netanyahu. NBC News described Israel’s election as taking place next month, while Al Jazeera said it was due later this year. Al Jazeera reported that polls show declining confidence in Netanyahu and his Likud party. NBC News said he also faces criticism from Israel’s right wing that he has not acted forcefully enough against Iran and its proxy groups.

“Netanyahu is going into his UNGA speech with not one but both eyes focused firmly on the upcoming Israeli election,” Nimrod Goren, president of the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, told Al Jazeera. He said the address typically receives broad coverage in Israel and that Netanyahu would likely use it to emphasize his relationship with the United States and the threat from Iran.

Netanyahu has also clashed publicly with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. NBC News reported that Mamdani had pledged to arrest Netanyahu for crimes against humanity before acknowledging that he lacked the jurisdiction to do so. In a video Tuesday, Netanyahu accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas, an accusation Mamdani has denied, and said he would “tell the truth about our heroic soldiers.” At a news conference Tuesday, asked about Netanyahu’s comments, Mamdani said the Israeli military had killed an 11-year-old boy in a zone deemed safe in Gaza.

The UN remains a point of contention between Israel and its critics. Al Jazeera reported that there have been numerous General Assembly resolutions criticizing Israel’s conduct and that Israeli lawmakers dismissed nearly all of them as evidence of institutional bias. The United States has vetoed at least six UN Security Council resolutions on Gaza since October 2023, most calling for an immediate ceasefire, the outlet reported.